About this release
OBS is the program almost every stream and a large share of recorded video passes through, and it earns that position by being a real production switcher rather than a capture button. Scenes hold any number of sources, sources can be windows, displays, cameras, capture cards, images, text, browsers or other scenes, and switching between scenes happens live with transitions.
The audio side is a full mixer. Every source has its own channel with a level meter, gain, and a filter chain that can carry noise suppression, gates, compressors and limiters. Monitoring can be routed separately from what goes out, so a voice can be heard locally without feeding back into the recording, and separate audio tracks can be written into the file for a later mix.
Encoding uses whatever the machine has. Hardware encoders on current graphics cards from every vendor are supported alongside software encoding, output can go to a stream and to a local file at the same time at different settings, and the replay buffer keeps the last stretch of video in memory so a moment can be saved after it happens.
Everything is extensible. The plug in interface supports virtual cameras, remote control decks, filters and scripting in two languages, and the docking system lets the interface be rearranged into whatever a particular production needs. Profiles and scene collections switch the whole setup between different jobs in one click.
What it does
- Scenes and unlimited sources
- Compose any number of windows, cameras, captures and overlays and switch live with transitions.
- Full audio mixer
- Per source channels with filter chains, separate monitoring and multi track recording.
- Hardware encoding
- Encoders on current graphics hardware from all vendors, plus software fallback.
- Simultaneous stream and record
- Send to a service and write a local file at different quality settings at once.
- Replay buffer
- Keep the last stretch of video in memory and save it after the moment has passed.
- Plug ins and scripting
- Virtual camera, control surfaces, filters and scripting in two languages.
Changed in this version
- Updated hardware encoder support for the current graphics generation.
- Lower processor use on scenes with many browser sources.
- Improved capture reliability on full screen applications.
- Audio filter chain interface reworked for clarity.
- Faster start with very large scene collections.
System requirements
| Processor | Quad core or better, six cores for software encoding at high settings |
|---|---|
| Memory | 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended |
| Graphics | GPU with a hardware encoder and DirectX 11 support |
| Disk | 500 MB plus room for recordings |
| Display | 1920 by 1080 or higher |
Install order
- Unpack the archive.
- Run the installer and allow the virtual camera component if you intend to use it.
- Run the auto configuration wizard on first launch to set a sensible baseline.
- Test a short recording before a live session to confirm encoder and audio routing.
Worth knowing before you start
Game and window capture behave differently depending on how an application renders, so test both.
Plug ins have to match the major version of the application to load.
File details
| Title | OBS Studio |
|---|---|
| Version | 32.2.1 |
| Publisher | OBS Project |
| Section | Video and Motion |
| Edition | Full build with plug in support |
| Size on disk | 148 MB |
| Platform | Windows 11, Windows 10 |
| Architecture | 64 bit |
| Languages | Multilingual, 40 interface languages |
| Mirrors carrying it | 9 |
| Added to the library | 4 years ago |
| Last refreshed | 5 days ago |